Women, be game changers!

Source From (Business Times): http://www.btimes.com.my/Current_News/BTIMES/articles/SMEWOM/Article/index_html

Published: on 05 March 2012

WOMEN making the headlines are not something unusual nowadays. I couldn't agree more with the adage "the hand that shakes the cradle will shake the world".


Over generations, women have been the centre of family life, which transcends to society. Today, women are empowered as key change agents that are vital to enhance the economic, social and political development. When a woman's life is changed positively, the family benefits, the community benefits, the country benefits and the world benefits.

Around the globe, more and more women are now at the helm of politics and hold key positions in business. These women who made it big have brought changes in laws and the way business is conducted, particularly in the context of gender equality.

During the 2nd Annual Women in Leadership Forum Asia, which SME Corp partnered with Peniagawati and Naseba on February 16 and 17 recently, I had the privilege to speak alongside a line-up of influential women leaders from across Asia discussing the key challenges women are facing today and showcased how gender diversity can be incorporated in their corporation's long-term growth. It is overwhelming to speak to over 250 distinguished business women from Australia, Bangladesh, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam as this shows that women making their mark in both the public and private sectors have increased significantly over the last two decades.

It is time we encourage women to step in and break the pattern of the mundane business environment. Most importantly, to advance further, women must be able to do things they think they can't do. More often than not, women don't realise that they naturally possess inherent leadership qualities that can be translated into sound leadership in business. The necessary skills to be a good leader are actually within themselves.

Women tend to be more assertive and persuasive, have a stronger need to get things done and are more willing to take risks compared to their male counterparts. These qualities are the key indicators of being great leaders - which unfortunately, most women don't realise.

We are very familiar with names such as Steve Jobs, the man who turned the creative industry upside down. After Apple, our world was never the same again. Who would have thought that the youngest inventor was able to create the biggest social network in the world, which has enabled us to stay in touch with more people than ever before! Mark Zuckerberg changed the world by reinventing the way we stay in touch with Facebook. Malaysians must be proud of the man who turned the country's airline industry from 'not everyone can fly' to 'now everyone can fly!'. Tan Sri Tony Fernandes is one of the first to "take a bus into the air". He has succeeded in his dramatic change of career direction to realise his vision of making travel affordable to all.

These people have transformed the global business landscape and our way of life. But what's interesting to note is that nearly all of these game changers are men! We do have prominent women figures such as Oprah Winfrey, the queen of media who uses TV to help us live the best life we can and who created a book club with members reaching into the millions.

Anita Roddick, known as one of the world's most successful retailers of cosmetics and cosmetic-related products, saw a single shop flourish into an international empire and proved that a company can gain its loyal customers by simply providing product information rather than employing high-powered advertising and high-pressure selling. These successful women can be an inspiration to other women to be game changers.

Let me share with you some of the qualities possessed by women who have changed their business landscape.

First and foremost, it is crucial for a woman to be ambitious and goal-oriented! She must have a clear vision that is ambitious but realistic and attainable.

Don't call yourself a businesswoman if you don't have the confidence. A successful businesswoman must have a healthy level of self confidence and believes in her ability and skills. She looks upon mistakes or criticism as opportunities for improvement.

Innovation is the talk of the town and technology and innovation have shaped our lives. A businesswoman should be able to create a modern twist to the traditional ways in running a business and be technologically savvy.

Finally, the key to business success is being able to network and collaborate with others. Remember ladies, you can't grow a business if you don't communicate, connect, consult and collaborate!

I'd like to borrow the words of Datin Seri Rosmah Mansor, wife of the Malaysian Prime Minister. She said "in order to become successful and influential, women must overcome the psychological barriers of their own making, whilst mindsets and conventions evolve to accommodate the rising influence of women, and women too must strive harder to form stronger, broader and robust support networks".

At this juncture, we are very fortunate to have our First Lady who is very passionate about empowering women in business. Once again, this year Rosmah will lead a bigger delegation of 80 of our distinguished businesswomen to the Global Summit of Women (GSW) 2012 in Athens, Greece, from May 30 to June 2.

I believe the excitement in Athens will not just end there as Malaysia will open its doors to women from every corner of the world, uniting them in Kuala Lumpur to share winning strategies towards advancing women in economy as we proudly host the GSW 2013. An Event not to be missed by our women entrepreneurs!

So women! Be a game changer and elevate your businesses to a new and exciting level. Don't be satisfied with just getting by; make it your mission to become the best of the best and one of the greatest to ever do it.

Having said all these, who is up for the challenge?

Datuk Hafsah Hashim is the CEO of SME Corp Malaysia